literature-research
Use when the user wants to find related work, survey a research area, identify literature gaps, or discover open-source implementations. Triggers on phrases like "find papers on", "related work", "literature review", "what papers exist", "open source implementation", or "papers with code".
Install / Use
npx skills add fcakyon/phd-skills --skill literature-researchInstalls into whichever agent you are using.
SKILL.md
Installable skill definition
Quality Score
Category
Education & ResearchSupported Platforms
Our assessment of literature-research
literature-research scores 83/100 on our quality scale, 344th of 435 Education & Research skills we index.
Its SKILL.md is 3.9 KB long, well organised into 12 sections with 1 code example: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.
It has 406 GitHub stars, a meaningful sign that others use it.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated 18 days ago, so literature-research is actively maintained.
- It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
- Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
literature-research compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than literature-research; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| literature-research (this skill)by fcakyon | 83 | 406 | 18d ago | SKILL.md |
| last30days-skillby mvanhorn | 100 | 63.5k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| algorithmic-artby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 12d ago | SKILL.md |
| pptxby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 12d ago | SKILL.md |
| designby nextlevelbuilder | 100 | 130.2k | 13d ago | SKILL.md |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install literature-research?
- Run
npx skills add fcakyon/phd-skills --skill literature-research. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does literature-research work with?
- It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is literature-research safe to use?
- It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is literature-research still maintained?
- The repository was last updated 18 days ago, so literature-research is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHubname: literature-research description: > Use when the user wants to find related work, survey a research area, identify literature gaps, or discover open-source implementations. Triggers on phrases like "find papers on", "related work", "literature review", "what papers exist", "open source implementation", or "papers with code".
Literature Research Methodology
You are helping a researcher conduct systematic literature research. Follow this methodology to ensure thorough, accurate coverage.
Step 1: Scope Definition
Before searching:
- Clarify the exact research question or topic boundary
- Identify key terms and their synonyms (e.g., "content moderation" = "safety filtering" = "NSFW detection")
- Define inclusion/exclusion criteria (year range, venue type, methodology type)
- Ask if the user has seed papers to start from
Step 2: Systematic Search
Use multiple search strategies in order:
2a. Direct Search
- Search for the topic using key terms via web search
- Target: Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, arXiv, DBLP
- Vary search terms to catch different framings of the same concept
2b. Citation Chaining
From seed papers or initial results:
- Forward chaining: who cited this paper? (find via Semantic Scholar or Google Scholar)
- Backward chaining: what does this paper cite? (read its references)
- This catches papers that use different terminology but address the same problem
2c. Venue Mining
- Identify top venues for the topic (conferences, journals, workshops)
- Check recent proceedings of these venues for relevant papers
- Workshop papers often contain early-stage work not yet in main conferences
2d. Open Source Discovery
- Search GitHub for implementations related to the topic
- Check Papers With Code for the specific task/dataset
- Look for "awesome-X" lists curated by the community
Step 3: Categorization
Organize found papers into a structured taxonomy:
| Paper | Year | Venue | Approach | Key Result | Code? | Relevance |
|-------|------|-------|----------|-----------|-------|-----------|
Group by methodology or approach type, not chronologically.
Step 4: Gap Identification
Map what exists vs. what's missing:
- Coverage matrix: rows = problem aspects, columns = existing approaches
- Empty cells = potential gaps
- For each candidate gap:
- Search specifically for work filling this gap (it may exist under different terms)
- Check very recent papers (last 6 months) that might have addressed it
- Assess whether the gap is meaningful (would filling it advance the field?)
Step 5: Gap Validation
For each identified gap, verify it's real:
- [ ] Searched with at least 3 different phrasings
- [ ] Checked proceedings of top-3 venues from last 2 years
- [ ] No preprint on arXiv addressing this gap
- [ ] The gap is technically feasible to address
- [ ] Filling the gap would be a meaningful contribution
Rate confidence: HIGH (extensively searched, clearly missing), MEDIUM (searched but might have missed niche work), LOW (limited search, gap may exist elsewhere).
Step 6: Output Format
Produce a structured research landscape:
- Topic summary — 2-3 sentence overview of the research area
- Paper table — categorized list with year, venue, approach, results, code availability
- Gap table — identified gaps with confidence levels and evidence
- Recommended readings — top 5-10 most relevant papers for the user's specific work
- Candidate citations — BibTeX entries for papers worth citing (MUST verify against DBLP before presenting)
Citation Integrity
Every paper mentioned must have verified metadata:
- Author names: cross-check with DBLP or the paper's official page
- Venue and year: confirm against the published version (not preprint)
- Claims about results: only include numbers you can trace to a specific table/figure in the paper
- If uncertain about any detail, flag it explicitly rather than guessing
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Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.
